A typical automotive vehicle occupant restraint system has a buckle attached to the free end of a piece of belting whose opposite end is anchored on the vehicle body. The anchoring may be either by direct fastening or via a device such as a retractor. A tongue is attached to a free end of a complementary piece of belting whose opposite end is anchored on the body. When the restraint system is in use to restrain a seated occupant, the two pieces of belting are connected by inserting the tongue of the one piece into the buckle of the other piece and adjusting the restraint around the occupant.
The buckle comprises a casing which contains a spring-loaded latching mechanism for releaseably latching the buckle to the tongue. A typical buckle casing comprises an aperture which exposes an actuating button for depression by a person's thumb or fingertip to cause the latching mechanism to release the buckle from latching condition. In today's typical buckle the area of the actuating button which is exposed by the aperture approximates that of the thumb or fingertip. The actuating button surface against which the thumb or fingertip presses is generally flush with the surface of the casing containing the aperture. This same buckle and actuating button assembly is installed in child restraint seats designed to be secured by the original equipment manufactured vehicle occupant restraint system.
For any of a number of various reasons, a person may be impaired from unlatching a buckle of this type. For instance, in winter weather the use of mittens, especially bulky ones, makes it difficult to operate the actuating button. Some people may have physical conditions which impair their ability to unlatch a buckle. Many women find this type of buckle difficult to operate with long fingernails. Attempts to unlatch the buckle can cause ladies' fingernails to crack and/or break, and this tends to discourage them from using the associated restraint system. Hence, in situations such as these, a more convenient way to release the buckle from its latching condition is desirable, but automobile and child car seat manufacturers give the consumer little or no choice in this matter.
Additionally, persons suffering from tendinitis, an inflammation of the tendons below the thumb down to the wrist, such as De Quervain's tendonitis, typically experience pain on the thumb side of the wrist that radiates up the forearm. De Quervain's tendonitis mainly affects two tendons—the abductor pollicis longus, or long thumb abductor, and the extensor pollicis brevis, or short thumb extensor. These tendons come into play when the thumb is moved in a different plane from the hand, as when using the thumb to depress the buckle release or actuating button assembly as installed in child restraint seats designed to be secured by the original equipment manufactured vehicle occupant restraint system.
The buckle release tool provides an accessory actuator for an occupant restraint system buckle or child restraint system buckle which gives the owner of an automotive vehicle a choice in rendering the restraint belts in the vehicle more convenient for unlatching. Briefly, the buckle release tool is an ergonomic hand held tool for use in depressing the actuator button of a car seat restraint harness and releasing the buckle from the locking engagement of the car seat restraint harness in a more convenient manner than through use of the pre-existing actuator button alone.
The preferred embodiment of the buckle release tool contemplates a molded plastic ergonomic hand held tool having a protruding, elongated rigid dome on the tool distal surface head to engage the pre-existing restraint release actuating button and cause release of the restraint buckle by pressure applied to the proximal surface of the tool held in the user's hand. For use of the buckle release tool on child restraint systems, the user's free hand is positioned between the child and the buckle to press the actuating assembly from the rear towards the buckle release tool. A storage element for the buckle release tool is provided.
With the known problems associated with the art, the buckle release tool was conceived and one of its objectives is to provide a tool assembly for use in depressing the pre-existing actuator button of a car seat restraint harness and releasing the buckle from the locking engagement of the car seat restraint harness in a more convenient manner than through use of the pre-existing actuator button alone, and which application is easily adapted a variety of automotive vehicle occupant restraint systems including, but not limited to, child car seat restraint systems.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a buckle release tool which can easily and conveniently be stored in the vehicle with a child car seat and as an accessory to the child car seat.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a buckle release tool to alleviate hand or finger pain caused by repetitive motion of depressing the pre-existing actuator button of vehicle occupant restraint systems including, but not limited to, child car seat restraint systems.
Yet another objective of the present invention to is provide a useful and safe buckle release tool to enable individuals with chronic hand pain or limited hand function to use a standard vehicle occupant restraint systems including, but not limited to, child car seat restraint systems.
Other objectives and advantages of the buckle release tool become apparent to those skilled in the art as a more detailed explanation of the invention is presented below. The drawings disclose a preferred embodiment of the buckle release tool according to the best mode contemplated at the present time in carrying out the buckle release tool.